Water conditions!

[telphora]

I finally got my betta today and I'm testing the water to make sure I won't kill him. I have some nifty test strips that make it pretty much idiot proof but I only have one concern; the results.

Nitrate and nitrite are at 0. So I know that's good.
The general hardness is at 0 as well.

The Carbonate Hardness however, is not at 0 and is instead at the highest - 240. I looked at the instructions where it lists the conditions for certain fish and they don't have betta on there! So that's one of my questions: what should the KH be at?

And pH is at a pinkish 7.5 (on a scale from 6.0 - 9.0) I'm a tad worried about this as well and want to know if this is good or needs to be fixed?

I have some water conditioner that I can add but I want to check and see if these are indeed problems or if I'm just being paranoid.

[dramaqueen]

Test strips aren't reliable. I would go with an API freshwater master test kit. They are a little expensive but worth it. The API is the one everyone around here recommends.

[telphora]

Well it's too late for me to go out tonight. So I'm going to have to live with the strips for now.

Say these strips are reliable, is the reading okay or bad?

[telphora]

Sorry, let me clarify my question -- What should the levels of KH be in my tank? I can't seem to find the proper answer.

[1fish2fish]

As long as you are conditioning your water and doing frequent changes you should be ok until you get a new test kit.

The strips are unreliable.. you can test the same water and get different readings and you can test different water and get the same readings. The liquid kind are MUCH more reliable. API is great like Dramaqueen said and theres also a cheaper version at walmart for about $15.. they have like 700 test so they really are worth your money.

The condition or your water before you put conditioner in it you don't really need to worry about... its only after you condition your water that you need to test your tank... what size tank do you have?

[telphora]

Alright I'll definitely be getting one of those kits asap. Probably tomorrow.

I have a 2 gallon because my father insists that it's big enough.The fish seems happy so I'm not complaining. lol

Oh, and when putting conditioner in it, should I take the water out and do it in a separate bowl or is it okay just in the tank?

[vaygirl]

I agree, the test strips are AWFUL. They had my tank at a 5 or so ph and it's actually a 7.6. They couldn't have been more off.

I always take a little water out in a clean, rinsed and dried bowl to test. I'm paranoid about getting chemicals in my tank no matter how much I rinse out those little test tubes.

[1fish2fish]

A 2gallon is perfectly fine. With that size you need to do water changes 3-4 times a week at least. You can either treat the water then add it or add it then treat it. Either way wait a few minutes for the conditioner to take effect before putting your fish back in the tank.

Do you have a heater for it? A betta should have water 76-82 degrees but anything from 72-84 is acceptable until you are able to get a heater... they're pretty cheap and a heated tank is invaluable when it comes to tropical fish

[telphora]

Okay cool.

Yeah I have a tetra heater for the 2-5 gallon tanks and also a light. I'm watching the thermometer I have like crazy -- atm it's 78 degrees and little Oberon looks happy in his bag as he gets used to it. Should I turn the light on only for a few hours in the evening while I'm here? My room is kind of dark but if I open my curtains he'll get some light during the day... do I remember correctly that they're supposed to have about 8 hours of darkness or smth? o.o

I'm just afraid the light and the heater might be too much? It's only a 5 watt I think...?

And on a relatively unrelated note I think I need to get some bloodworms or smth because I'm anticipating this fella's going to be a picky eater. He chewed on the little pellets and spit them out and then didn't touch the flakes lol

[1fish2fish]

He probably won't eat much for a few days.. he's getting used to the new diggs. But bloodworms are always good for a weekly treat.

Bettas do need dark so only have his light/outdoor light on him for 8-9 hours a day... similar to what he would get if he was in the wild.

78* is perfect.. leave the light on for 2-3 hours and see what the temp is. If its not more than 80* your fine... the temp is going to fluctuate somewhat from light to dark by shouldn't go by more than 2*... if its a little high just turn the heat down a little... it takes some finagling to get it set just perfect.